{"id":5814,"date":"2018-02-26T16:54:44","date_gmt":"2018-02-26T15:54:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sculpture-nature_local.test\/?p=5814"},"modified":"2018-07-06T18:04:40","modified_gmt":"2018-07-06T17:04:40","slug":"harbour-arts-sculpture-park-hongkong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sculpture-nature_local.test\/en\/harbour-arts-sculpture-park-hongkong\/","title":{"rendered":"The Harbour Arts Sculpture Park"},"content":{"rendered":"

In February 2018, the Harbour Arts Sculpture Park<\/a> was inaugurated along the waterfront in Central Hong Kong. This project was the realisation of an original plan for the surrounding area, conceived by the founders of the Hong Kong Art Centre<\/a> and finally inaugurated this year, as the organisation celebrates its fortieth anniversary. This inaugural exhibition was curated by Tim Marlow, artistic director at the\u00a0Royal Academy of Arts<\/a>, and\u00a0Fumio Nanjo, director of\u00a0Mori Art Museum<\/a>\u00a0and director of international programmes at Hong Kong Art School. <\/span><\/p>\n

Harbour Arts Sculpture Park is the first project of this scale to take place in Hong Kong. With works by 19 renowned local and international contemporary artists from 7 different countries, it aimed to provide public art to rival similar contemporary sculpture parks around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to coinciding with the HKAC\u2019s fortieth anniversary, Harbour Arts opened to overlap with the Hong Kong Art Month, working with public and private collaborators to cement Hong Kong\u2019s position as a global arts player. One of the exhibition\u2019s curator, Tim Marlow called this project a \u2018museum without walls,\u2019 which aimed to bring works by international artists who deserved a platform in this international city and enriching the cultural life of the public.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although the park stretched across several different locations, in many places the works felt both cramped and many felt dwarfed in relation to the surrounding metropolis. Despite this placement issue, there were many works that stood out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pakastani-British artist, Rasheed Araeen\u2019s Hong Kong Blues<\/i> (2018), was clearly made as a new commission for this setting. Araeen\u2019s work created a dialogue with its surrounding environment, echoing the aesthetic of the nearby commercial buildings in a vibrant blue, alluding to the skyline and possibly some of the sentiments experienced within these surrounding structures. The work was characteristic of Araeen\u2019s practice, which relates to his history as an engineer, American Minimalism and his desire to make works that are universal. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another iconic work was Pumpkin: big <\/i> (2008) <\/i>by Yayoi Kusama, which sat on the harbour front, recalling the placement of her first outdoor work on Naoshima Island in Japan from 1994 . Pumpkins first appeared in Kusama\u2019s work in 1946 and were widely praised for integrating an example of \u2018Nihonga\u2019, the new, nationalistic style of traditional Japanese painting, which developed around the turn of the nineteenth century. Kusama has become renowned for her large, outdoor pumpkin sculptures that can be found at locations around the world. <\/span><\/p>\n

Gimhongsok is an accomplished Korean painter, sculptor, performance and video artist. He often uses everyday materials to engage his audience in a dialogue about preconceived and conventional values found in both communities and art. In\u00a0Bearlike Construction<\/i>, the form is immediately recognizable as a teddy bear, but is assembled out of cast bronze garbage bags rather than the conventional materials. Gimhongsok originally designed this work with the intention of wittily echoing the piles of garbage bags found on street corners throughout New York City.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nearby is a work by Tracey Emin entitled, A Moment Without You (<\/i>2017). This bronze sculpture made up of long poles topped by birds was placed in Hong Kong as a tribute to her late friend Sir David Tang. This piece was a rework of\u00a0Roman Standard<\/i>\u00a0(2013) \u2013 a work Emin made as a reinterpretation of the traditional and masculine symbols of power. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to Hong Kong based artist Morgan Wong, his\u00a0A Time Capsule of Some Day<\/i>\u00a0\u2018prompts audiences to think about what could be of Hong Kong, someday\u2019.\u00a0This work is a development from his\u00a0Time Needle<\/i>\u00a0series. It is composed of a piece of marble that resembles a commemorative stone, atop a tube that contains metal dust from a steel bar and has been shaped into the form of a needle. This work is based on an ongoing series by Wong based on a Chinese allegory of filing down a steel bar until a needle is made \u2013 a mediation on duration and determination. <\/span><\/p>\n

Kacey Wong, a Hong Kong based artist, also features with a site-specific work. Asteroids and Comets<\/i>\u00a0is placed adjacent to the infamous \u2018dark corner\u2019 of the Umbrella Movement. For Wong, an activist in the movement, the site of his is politically and emotionally charged. Wong explained, \u2018As I was installing this work, I was thinking about the dark corner and also in a way exploring the dark hole of the universe,\u2019 alluding to the subject of his work. These linear structures invite participation and Wong encourages people to step inside and immerse themselves in astronomic constructions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Speech Bubble Tree<\/i> by American artist, Hank Willis Thomas, also draws attention to the emotionally charged potential of public space. His enlarged speech bubbles spell out the phrase \u201cThe Truth is I Love You,\u201d<\/i>\u00a0in English on one side, and Chinese on the other, characterized by a universality that transcends cultural borders, his works intend to challenge the way traditional signage is depicted in metropolitan settings.\u00a0Willis Thomas explained, \u2018You could say its kind of sappy, but at the same time most of the signs we see in public spaces are either directions, or trying to direct us towards buying something, so I really like the idea of making something that is directed towards people, but trying to make them feel good and accepted in a public space.\u2019 <\/span><\/p>\n

Many other iconic works by international artists featured as part of Harbour Arts Sculpture Park. In a city that currently lacks an ongoing public art experience at this scale, this initiative was an important step towards demonstrating the potential for public art across these sites in Hong Kong.<\/span><\/p>\n

Harbour Arts Sculpture Park<\/a><\/strong>
\nFrom February 22th to April 11th 2018
\nCentral and Western District Promenade, The Hong Kong Arts Centre, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Western Garden, Edinburgh Place (Hong Kong)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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